In the past decade there have been countless infrastructure failures caused by corrosion, from expensive inconveniences like neighborhood water main breaks to catastrophic incidents like the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the Kalamazoo pipeline spill, and the recent collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy.
To ensure the safety, reliability, and complete service life of infrastructure assets, extensive consideration must go into materials selection, the use of qualified professionals, consistent lifelong maintenance, and corrosion management planning. There are pipelines, bridges, and other infrastructure that can function up to and well beyond their estimated lifespan; however, without corrosion control precautions, failure can occur long before an asset has reached its intended lifecycle.
While we await the final report on the cause of the Morandi Bridge collapse, concerns about corrosion have already been raised, and many news outlets are mentioning the bridge’s age as a factor. It was just under 50 years old when it collapsed on August 14, but what is more troubling are the questions being raised about the bridge’s construction and maintenance over those years. There are lessons to be learned and warnings to be heeded from Genoa and the many other deadly infrastructure failures that have preceded it worldwide.
In the U.S., four out of 10 of our nation’s 614,000 of bridges are more than 50 years old, and more than 50,000 of them have been rated structurally deficient by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. While age may not be the greatest threat, we’ve just witnessed in Genoa—with visceral clarity—what can happen when poorly selected materials, insufficient maintenance, environmental factors, and age converge.
NACE International’s 36,000 members worldwide are dedicated to preventing these disasters every day through their work, research, and efforts to raise awareness about the societal impact of corrosion. Corrosion control is a chief component to long-lasting, safe infrastructure. Managing corrosion is an added cost, however the cost of inaction is too high – potential loss of human life. In addition to this risk there are economic factors including replacing a failed asset and economic paralysis caused when an asset is taken out of commission.
Bridges are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to concerns about infrastructure. There are just as many deficiencies and threats to water distribution lines, ports, nuclear power plants, and other infrastructure we rely on daily. Much can be done to prevent the next bridge collapse or pipeline explosion or watermain burst, but it requires a willingness and commitment on the part of lawmakers and decisionmakers in industry to invest in the proper materials, professional expertise, and long-term planning and maintenance to prevent these disasters. Those officials must take action now before they are left standing before the public explaining why more wasn’t done to prevent yet another tragedy.
Originally posted on www.nace.org